The Manchester United Supporters Trust, or MUST, have demanded that the club’s hierarchy ‘accelerate’ the takeover process.
Potential buyers are set to enter a third round of talks after the Glazer family have failed to accept any bids so far – leaving United supporters anxious that they could go back on their commitment to sell up.
Any new offers must now be submitted before the end of the month. However, in a fresh twist, the two remaining bidders Sir Jim Radcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, have now been told that there are TWO deadlines.
As noted by the Daily Mail, the first, which is in the middle of next week, is related to due diligence. The second – April 28 – is for final bids to drop.
Gary Neville voiced his anger over the decision to prolong the sale on Wednesday.
Now, his his thoughts have been echoed by MUST, who say the takeover process must come to an end soon, as Man Utd are in ‘dire need of new investment’.
In an official statement on Thursday, they said: “When it was announced in November that the Glazers were undertaking a “strategic review” and inviting offers to buy the Club, MUST welcomed the news.
“We went on to urge the majority owners to move ahead with the process with speed, so that any period of uncertainty was as short as possible.
“Nearly five months on, we read speculation that offers from prospective buyers remain below the Glazers valuation, and that a third round of offers will now be invited.”
Indeed, the decision to move into a third round suggests that the Glazers have not yet received a bid that they deem adequate, as otherwise, they would have gone into a ‘period of exclusivity’ with one bidder.
Now, as it stands, things will have to progress very quickly if the takeover ahead of the summer transfer window, something which concerns the fan-group.
“With Erik Ten Hag having made such great progress in his first season, and with the vital summer transfer window a matter of weeks away, the news of these delays and further prolonged uncertainty are of great concern,” MUST added.
“Erik needs to know what resources he has to spend so he can make the signings the Club needs, and the whole management resources of the Club need to be focussed on supporting him in that.
“That cannot be the case with the future ownership so unclear.
“We are also unable to move forward on major investment projects – not least the stadium redevelopment as we remain in limbo.
“We are in dire need of new investment, which undoubtedly requires new ownership. MUST, along with United fans all around the world, are calling for this process to be concluded without further delay.”
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